A group of Indiana University students is taking a challenge to the school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals after an Indiana district court declined to enjoin the mandate. The students are also asking federal judges to stay enforcement of the mandate while the appeal proceeds.
U.S. regulators on Monday added a new warning to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine about links to a rare and potentially dangerous neurological reaction, but said it’s not entirely clear the shot caused the problem.
Indiana continues to lag the nation in the percentage of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and is now seeing an outbreak of variants that are more infectious and can cause more severe illness.
Pfizer is about to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, saying Thursday that another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 289 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total to 756,070 cases in the state during the pandemic. Also, far fewer people are showing up to be vaccinated on a daily basis.
A federal judge last month swatted away a lawsuit filed by more than 100 health care workers who opposed a requirement by their employer, Houston Methodist, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by June 7. Many Hoosier health care workers are now facing the same dilemma.
Eight students, including an incoming law student, have filed a lawsuit against Indiana University, claiming the school’s policy requiring students to be inoculated against COVID-19 is “irrational and unreasonable” because “the pandemic is virtually over, herd immunity has been achieved and there is extremely minimal risk of COVID to IU students.”
Nearly half of Indiana residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus despite a continuing drop in the number of Hoosiers getting the jab each day.
Indiana State University will encourage but not require COVID-19 vaccinations for students and employees when they return to the western Indiana school for the upcoming academic year.
Indiana law firms are either having attorneys and staff come back to office or making plans for a return in a few months. The firms contacted by The Indiana Lawyer are encouraging rather than requiring their employees to get vaccinated, and they have found most of their workforces have been inoculated.
For months, President Joe Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the coronavirus pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks. Now, though, the U.S. is unlikely to meet his target to have 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
Indianapolis’ mask mandate will end Tuesday for fully vaccinated residents as part of the City-County Council’s ratification of a new public health order Monday evening.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Monday reported 275 new COVID-19 cases, the fewest number of new cases reported in the daily report since 264 on June 17, 2020.
While Indiana University faces political backlash over its plans to require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for all students and employees, Purdue University is offering a chance at winning a full year’s tuition for students who get the shots.
Indiana health officials reported zero new deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday, the same day the state logged 565 newly confirmed cases.
Indiana University announced Friday that all students, faculty and staff will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the fall semester.
Marion County will wait until June 7 to ease its current pandemic-related restrictions, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Wednesday, and could fully reopen in July if enough people get vaccinated.
The state of Indiana said nearly 2.3 million Hoosiers had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 2.5 million had received the first dose of a two-dose vaccination.
The counties near Indiana’s border with Michigan are showing persistent risk of coronavirus spread, with top state health officials saying Wednesday they were trying to turn around declining COVID-19 vaccination rates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.